Comment 27912

By Mr. Meister (anonymous) | Posted December 15, 2008 at 23:01:11

A Smith, nice theory, a little over simplified but a nice theory. But in the end, do you let the poor or the unfortunate starve? We will never have a 0% jobless rate. I’ve seen how quickly life can change and take somebody down. How much can city managers really do to bring well paying jobs into the city? The city does not operate in a vacuum. Look at the airport, the city and numerous airlines have tried but nobody can make it work. Whose fault is it? A lot of what municipal governments do is provide fundamental services and there’s no way I want do without them. Remember Harris? He screwed so much of this province but did enough for the affluent in and around Toronto that he got re-elected. His 407 deal will haunt us for many years to come. I can see somebody coming in and slashing things like welfare and other services but keeping the majority very happy as well as having great “numbers”. I don’t think I have the stomach for that.
I’m a big proponent of less and smaller government, especially cheaper government. However I’m a bigger proponent of getting my snow and garbage removed.
As far as the downtown is concerned I’ve been advocating lowering taxes there for years. Cities like Boston and Pittsburgh have shown that to re-vitalize the core you have to get people to live there. Look at some of the gorgeous lofts that have been built in Boston. It’s not easy attracting people away from the great North American ideal, the house with the white fence. Lower taxes in general, and fees for renovations can really help. Having a thriving core would greatly improve many of Hamilton’s ailments.

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